Posted on 10/06/2003 10:36:36 AM PDT by chance33_98
National Park Service Launches New Web Site to Highlight Hispanic Heritage Parks; New Web Site is Part of an Iberian Project
10/6/03 11:23:00 AM
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To: National Desk
Contact: John Wright of the U.S. Department of the Interior, 202-208-6416
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- National Park Service Director Fran Mainella has announced the availability of a new web site designed to highlight the importance of Hispanic Heritage Parks and the part they play in the nation's history.
The new site titled, "Hispanic Heritage Parks: An Iberian Project," assists visitors in experiencing the nation's Hispanic heritage that is preserved and interpreted throughout the National Park Service.
"We are proud of the rich Hispanic heritage that exists in parks throughout our country," said National Park Service Director Fran Mainella. "From Puerto Rico to Alaska, many of these parks have a direct connection to the Iberian Peninsula."
The new web site is part of an Iberian Project dedicated to the several parks in the national park system of Iberian or Spanish heritage. The site encourages a virtual electronic tour of all parks in the national park system of Hispanic heritage. Visitors can log onto www.nps.gov in order to access this special program, which is prepared in English and Spanish.
The Iberian Peninsula consists today of Portugal and Spain. It is an area surrounded by water except for its northern boundary with France. The Mediterranean Sea is to the east and to the west is the Atlantic Ocean. In the south, the Strait of Gibraltar separates the Iberian Peninsula from northern Africa. During the 15th and 16th centuries the nations of Portugal and Spain pioneered the European discovery of sea routes that opened the first channels of interaction among all of the world's continents.
Part of the NPS mission focuses on the preservation, education, and interpretation of the heritage of the United States -- a multidimensional heritage represented by 388 units throughout the national park system. This multidimensional heritage includes the history of the Spanish Colonial period, preserved in various units of the national park system. This important chapter of American history is shared with you through the units mentioned below and through other parks that preserve our rich Hispanic heritage.
National Park Units of Iberian or Spanish Heritage
Coronado National Memorial -- Arizona
Tumacacori National Historical Park -- Arizona
Cabrillo National Monument -- California
Channel Islands National Park -- California
Fort Point National Historic Site -- California
John Muir National Historical Site -- California
Point Reyes National Seashore -- California
Biscayne National Park -- Florida
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument -- Florida
De Soto National Memorial -- Florida
Fort Matanzas National Monument -- Florida
El Morro National Monument -- New Mexico
Pecos National Historical Park -- New Mexico
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument -- New Mexico
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park -- Texas
San Juan National Historic Site -- Puerto Rico
Debt retirement...
Sell the land, pay off the National debt...
Iberian... think skippy, think...
1513 Juan Ponce de León lands on the shores of Florida, exploring most of the coastal regions and some of the interior. At the time, there were an estimated 100,000 Native Americans living there.
1514 Ponce de León is granted a patent, empowering him to colonize the island of Bimini and the island of Florida. Diego Velázquez becomes a virtual feudal lord of Cuba, and establishes what are to become Cuba's two largest cities, Santiago and Havana. He also directs the explorations of the Mexican Gulf.
1519 Alonso Alvarez de Pineda claims Texas for Spain. Hernán Cortés lands on the coast of Veracruz, Mexico.
1520s Continuing their maritime adventures, the Spanish explorers cruise along the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, seeing Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, and also sailing up the Atlantic coast to the Carolinas.
1536 In Mexico City rumors were that Cabeza de Vaca and his companions had discovered cities laden with gold and silver in the American Southwest, reviving the legend of the Seven Cities, which dated from the Moorish invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.
1537 Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca returns to Spain and spends some three years writing La relación, an account of his wanderings in the North American continent. Published in 1542, La relación is a document of inestimable value because of the many first descriptions about the flora, fauna, and inhabitants of what was to become part of the United States.
1539 May 18. From Havana, Cuba, Hernando de Soto sets sail for Florida and begins exploring the present-day U.S. Southeast
DO I NEED TO GO ON... Instead go to this website to learn about Hispanic history... http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/chh/timeline/
I guess that's better that A$$ of Horse...
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